Giants GM Bobby Evans has succeeded with subtly bold action, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes in an interesting feature on the recently promoted executive. If you’re interested in learning how exactly one can make it to the top echelons of baseball decisionmaking without a professional playing career or other “in” to get you there, this is essential reading. Now 46, Evans got his start with an internship, worked in the commissioner’s office, and then jumped on an opportunity to join the San Francisco organization as a minor league administrative assistant. “He was very eager, obviously an intelligent kid, he had the intern experience in Boston and the commissioner’s office, and quite frankly, he was single and wide-eyed and willing to put the hours in,” said former Giants GM and current executive VP of operations Brian Sabean of Evans’s start with the club.  “That’s half the battle. You have to be willing to punch the clock, and put up with the demands.” 21 years and a lot of hard work later, Evans was given the general manager’s chair as Sabean moved to a more senior post.
Here’s more from the National League:
- As it investigates Cardinals employees’ improper access of the Astros’ computer system, the FBI is still working to determine precisely which personnel were responsible for the breach, Michael Schmidt of the New York Times reports. Per the report, the focus is on “a small group of Cardinals employees who specialize in statistical analysis and computer programming and had access to a computer in a residence” in Jupiter, Florida last spring. Given the potential criminal ramifications, several individuals under investigation have obtained representation, which necessarily constrains the fact-finding process. It appears that the intrusion came from a commonly-used computer, as the report indicates that a significant part of the puzzle involves the questions of when and for how long various Cardinals employees were utilizing a single machine around the time that the Astros’ databases were accessed.
- Though a lawsuit against the Cardinals by the Astros is not likely given the league rules barring such an action, and fines are capped at $2MM, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes that the Cards could still face significant financial exposure. Namely, commissioner Rob Manfred could function as an arbitrator to award damages should Houston seek to prove that it suffered harm due to the actions of the St. Louis employees (and the public exposure of the information).
- The Mets shortstop saga may have a new chapter, as the team appears likely to move Wilmer Flores to second base when Daniel Murphy is activated from the DL, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. In that scenario, Murphy would play third (in place of David Wright), while Ruben Tejada would slide in at short for at least some time with Dilson Herrera moving to the bench. Hypothetically, of course, the club could seek an outside addition to take over for Flores while keeping his bat in the lineup at second. But it’s far from clear whether that is a realistic or wise option for the New York front office, particularly with the team sliding of late.
- Chase Utley’s DL stint for a nagging ankle injury came as something of a surprise to Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News reports. “In my communication with Chase throughout the season about playing he’s always been up and willing to go and no real reports of anything holding him back, so I was a little bit surprised by it in some regards,” Sandberg said. The skipper’s reaction is at least potentially notable because of the delicate situation that seems to be playing itself out in Philly. Sandberg had increasingly turned to Cesar Hernandez at second, but it has remained unclear what strategic direction the organization was taking with Utley, one of the faces of the team’s last great run. The veteran is already halfway (249/500 plate appearances) to triggering a $15MM vesting clause for next year. Given his recent injury history and marked production downturn this year, it would obviously behoove the club to avoid that obligation, but doing so will likely require some deft handling.
Dock_Elvis
Very interesting article on Evans. Actually refreshing to read of a non-wunderkind who doesn’t hold an Ivy League degree and fast track getting Theo Epstein coffee.
NoAZPhilsPhan 2
I wasn’t able to reply to you the other day because there was no “reply” button (I am not crazy about this new system) regarding Ute being somewhat deceptive. As you see above with Ryno’s comments…. That’s what I was talking about. Chase has done that before, insisting everything is fine and that he is good to go and only later when the injury gets so bad he can no longer play does he finally admit…. Yes this is been bothering me for quite some time. Like I said the other day, I admire a gamer and someone who wants to give their all but not at the expense of the team or risk of more serious injury.
flyerzfan12
Agreed. The thing that surprises me the most is that Ryno didn’t know that Utley had an MRI back on May 16. How does a manager not know that his starting 2B had an MRI for an entire month?
Dock_Elvis
That’s my issue…an MRI is a team issue. Ryno is pretty old school as well. That has it’s benefits, but can be a draw back in assessing a players fitness. Utley just gets out and plays…its detrimental for sure.
Yeah…this new system leaves much to be desired. I really liked disqus…I’d be notified of single replies. For some reason this new system also locks up my smart phone keyboard
Dock_Elvis
I’m still mystified by what sets off moderation as well.
Steve Adams
I’ll let Tim know about the keyboard issue. As he said at the time, this is an early iteration, and additional features will be added. It’s necessary for us to keep everything in-house and to integrate comments with the mobile app.
Steve Adams
Oh, what phone/OS are you using?
Dock_Elvis
Steve….I can’t seem to be able to reply to you direct. I’m on a MotorolaX 2 android. Sure…Tim and I discussed some of the issues in the original posting about the move to in house commentary. It’ll be very nice once things are running on the app. I only mention things so that maybe they are noted.
Make any switch and people will complain…not really my intent. It has to be done sometime. The feature of Disqus that I did like was being able to be notified of replies to my specific posts…it kept me from the need to check back to see the status of any discussion. Disqus would notify by email. I tried the notification feature here…and it emailed every single response to a post. That day I received over 100 emails.
Im reasonable and I’m not demanding anything….I realize in the end the system will be absolutely great. I enjoy the site and the ongoing discussion with a lot of the regulars. Can’t beat baseball talk. People make some excellent points in the comments. Yeah, for sure the moderation is tricky…but I understand it’s point. I just laugh though because I’ll go back over a comment and attempt to figure out how I set the filter off.
iuo
I know Flores’ best position is 2nd base and I’m hoping they call up M Reynolds to play SS, but I’ve got a feeling they’re going to play Tejada there. He doesn’t deserve it but I know the Mets are looking at his glove and OBP (which is .331 way above many Mets). If that’s the case then D Herrera needs to be sent down to AAA to play everyday. He has a lot of potential and can’t just sit and “learn” on the bench in the majors.
Mark D
Flores has a
-2.4 UZR/150 in 165 innings at 2B
5.9 UZR/150 in 1022 innings at SS
His best position is absolutely, undeniably, shortstop. Mets and their media and fans are being 100% clueless when it comes to this guy.
Flores is a perfectly fine, 23 year old MLB-quality shortstop who hits for power. LEAVE. HIM. THERE.
rct
Have to agree. His original position is SS. Granted, he mostly played it from ages 16-19, but he hasn’t looked too bad out there this year. Only thing he hasn’t really done well is turn a double play. Him at 2B might compound that problem.
Steve Adams
Defensive metrics are an imperfect science as it is, and placing that kind of stock in samples that small isn’t a great way to evaluate a player’s glove. You could just as easily look at Defensive Runs Saved and say he’s been eight runs below average.
Focusing solely on one number will rarely prove anything, and when there’s so much data out there, it’s worth taking in as much as you can. Scouts have long said Flores can’t handle shortstop, he grades out very negatively per DRS, and if you just watch him, I’d agree that he looks overmatched at times.
This isn’t to say he’s a bad player, but he’s probably better suited to play second or third.
Dock_Elvis
Good points Steve. How do the scouts judge his form on turning two from both SS and 2B. It’s an entirely different setup mechanically.
oh Hal
Alderson isn’t going to trade for a SS because for what he is willing to trade he can’t get anyone better than his in house options.
dirtydirty00
exactly. does anyone else think this ‘big 5’ is going too smoothly? Yes, me too. If it seems too good to be true then it is. and guess what… it is. never works like this, never has, never will. sooner rather than later we will be left with 1 or 2 pitchers and 3-4 broken prospects. and still holes all over the field bc we never wanted to trade for a proven commodity and let someone else take the gamble.
Lance
Utley isn’t getting it done. There is zero trade value and injury or not, it’s obviously not smart business for the Phils to pay him $15m next year. He was a great player in his day but that day is over. So is Jimmy Rollins, but at least Philly was able to unload him and most of his $15 million salary on the Dodgers.
Dock_Elvis
Those contracts weren’t going to end well…that was clear…all that value has to come up front. 36 playing second base turning the double play…guy is getting old…but he was a cog for a long time.
Mark D
Flores has a 5.9 UZR/150 in 1022 innings.
Marcus Semien has a -22.5 UZR/150 in 613 innings.
The Mets are run by completely stupid imbeciles.